Economic change and impact on places, globalisation and sense of place Flashcards
Globalisation
the growing integration and interdependence of peoples lives in a complex process with economic, social, political and environmental components.
Key drivers of globalisation:
TNCs
Technology
Nation states
Global shift:
Consequence of relationships of TNCs and states drives changes that impact lives if billions of people. Global shift is relocation of manufacturing production on a local scale.
Booms and recessions and impacts
Recessions are general slowdowns in economic activity. GDP, investment spending, household income, business profits + inflations fall while bankruptcies + employment rise.
Households tend to cut back on spending on non-essential items eg leisure + entertainment when there is pressure on incomes. Which can = fewer jobs in service activities eg bars + restaurants.
Methods to tackle inequality:
Taxation Subsidies Planning Law Education
Key players
those involved in funding eg governments, tourist boards, planning departments.
Jembatan Besi, Jakarta
Indonesia = 275 million people, 5th largest country in the world
10 mill live in the city -> The wealthiest 10% control nearly 30% of household income while the poorest 10% have access to 3.4%.
1/4 live in slums
Jembatan Besi - population of 4000, most densely populated district, includes migrants who may stay for a few months + families who have lived there all their lives
Socio economic conditions:
Jembatan Besi, Jakarta
Demand for affordable housing exceeds supply
Average income is $4 a day, for many this is not a regular income
Employment insecure with most residents able to provide unskilled + casual labour
Selling food or second goods which are normally salvaged from waste tips is common
Even in more formal employment there is little security eg garment industry there is few health and safety precautions
Health = major concern, sanitation hardly exists
Few homes have a toilet, poorly run
Toilets tend to flush out into open sewers
Groundwater suppliers polluted
Typhoid common
Air pollution levels are high
Poor equipped school, most children cannot complete as don’t have enough money
Housing conditions:
Jembatan Besi, Jakarta
one of most densely populated places in Indonesia
Residents make use of any material they can find - scraps
Fire consistent risk
Dark alleys, barely any sunlight
Slum clearance to allow rebuilding has resulted in people relocating to other slum areas + making situation worse there
Northwood Irvine (California)
Irvine was developed as fully planned city, classic edge city
22,000 people
8200 households
1/3 are families with children of school age
Socio economic conditions
Northwood Irvine
median income of $86,500 a year, national average is $52,250
no. of well established high tech companies eg Blizzard Entertainment
Healthcare is excellent, even by high standards of AC
Air pollution relatively low
Schools among best achieving in the USA
68.5% of residents aged 25+ have first degrees, 20.5% having masters
Crime is 70% lower than the national average
96% safer than cities in California
Half residents are white
Housing conditions
Northwood Irvine
91% own their own home
2/3 have lived in Northwood for more than 10 yrs
Average household size is 2.8 persons
what is quality of life?
the extent to which peoples needs + desires (social, psychological or physical) are met
what is standard of living?
the ability to access services + goods. this includes basics such as food, water, clothes + personal mobility.
how do governments respond to social + economic inequalities?
- raised min. wage
- free school meals
- before + after school clubs
- free childcare after 3.5 so parents can go back to work
What was government spending in 2016 + what was it on?
£760 billion 12% on education 18% on healthcare 20% on pensions 15% on welfare
Describe subsidies:
Granted to the poorest groups
- Children may receive free school meals, clothing allowances, free tuition fees
Pensioners may get subsidies for fuel and transport
Low-wage earners and unemployed are entitled to benefits
What methods can be used to tackle social and economic inequalities?
Subsidies Planning Education Law Taxation Pensions Health care Rural services
Describe planning:
Governments, charities and housing agencies give priority to upgrading services and housing in deprived areas
Describe education:
Government provides funding to raise skill levels and qualifications, improve employment and boost the economy
Education programmes also introduced eg diet, obesity, smoking
Describe law:
Legislation prevents discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender and age
Poor groups of workers protected by minimum wage
Describe taxation:
Income tax helps redistribute wealth
Essential items exempt from VAT so that poorest people (who spend large proportion of money on food) are not disadvantaged
Describe pensions:
Spending on pensions in UK has doubled in past 12 years - sampled by ageing population
Poorest members of society rely on state pensions
Wealthy people can also claim an occupation pension which provide extra income
Describe health care:
NHS is ‘free at the point of delivery’ - payed for through tax
Language and cultural barriers have been obstacles in accessing health care for migrants
Groups eg Somali and South Asian have fears about immunisation which particularly affects children so literature produced in alternative languages is produced to educate these groups
Describe rural services:
Key settlement policy - a rural settlement where services are concentrated to meet thresholds that will ensure their economic viability
Define spatial inequality:
The unequal distribution of factors such as income, education, or health across geographic space at any scale
Define inequality:
Extreme differences between poverty and wealth due to a variety of factors eg. age, ethnicity, gender, religion and education.
Indicators determining standard of living and quality of living:
Social - fear of crime, standard of health, standard of education
Political - opportunities to vote
Economic - level of income, access to leisure activities, access to employment
Environmental - vandalism, evidence of litter, level of pollution
What is the difference between poverty and deprivation?
Poverty refers to not having enough money to support a decent standard of living
Deprivation refers to a general lack of resources and opportunities
What is the cycle of deprivation?
Poverty (low wages/unemployment) - Poor living conditions - ill-health - poor education - poor skills
How does the UK government measure levels of deprivation?
Index of Multiple Deprivation to assess relative levels
What 7 factors are used to give Index of Multiple Deprivation?
Income Employment Health Education Crime Access to housing and services Living environment
What ways can social inequality be measured?
Income Housing Education Health care Employment
Income -> What is the World Bank’s Definition of poverty?
US$1.25/day purchasing power parity -> this cannot afford min. food + essentials
Income -> how is relative poverty used to measure income?
- relates level of poverty to distribution of income across whole population
- UK + throughout EU, the relative poverty level is 60% of the median household income
- about 13 million fall below this threshold in UK
Income -> what technique is used to measure levels of income inequality within countries?
Gini Coefficient - ration between 0 - 1
the lower the value more equal income distribution is
1 would mean one person in that country has all the money
0 spread completely equally
Housing -> what is an indicator of social inequality?
housing tenure
- some people rent from landlords whilst some from local authorities
- owner occupies own their own house
- LIDCs housing tenure is complex eg slum areas
Education -> what gives indications of inequality?
- contrasts in literacy levels (literacy = measures of ability to read + write)
- formal education - schools, colleges + uni
- informal - gained from doing something at home -> these can be underestimated if only formal qualifications are measures particularly in EDCs + LIDCs
Health care -> how is inequality shown?
- no. of health care professionals + measure of no. of doctors per 1000
- access to clean water, effective sanitation, quality + quantity of diet
- can be a matter of social behaviour + lifestyle eg vaccinations, tobacco + alcohol consumption
Employment -> measures of inequality?
- unemployment
- employment is hard to measure as some people may be in jobs but with low wages
spatial patterns of wealth
- low incomes linked to ill health, lower educational attainment + poor access to services
- lack of formal qualifications + low skill sets = obstacles to raising income
- disposable income is the main factor (amount left over after purchasing essentials for life)
spatial patterns of housing
- quality of accommodation -> small income of a household, the less choice of housing they have
- poor quality housing create ill health
- homelessness
- Acs when house prices are rising but wages aren’t = can exclude people from housing market
- move of wealthy people to an area can bring up housing prices
spatial patterns of health
- link between deprivation + ill health
- access to medical services -> distribution is uneven
eg elderly people have limited mobility which restricts access to GPs
spatial patterns of education
- illiteracy excludes people from accessing education + skills training -> reduces employment opportunities
- accessing basic education can be a major issue in rural regions in LIDC
public players
inc govt, EU, national govt, local govt
-> tries to stimulate economic growth, sustain existing employment + create new jobs + improve the environment
private players
inc TNCs, self employed
-> aim to generate money to make a profit on their investment
an example of community shaping the place they live
Newcourt -> will be providing 3700 dwellings + 20 hectares of employment land when complete.
-> a community organisation has been established which influences the making of this new place from the point of view of local residents
resident associations
concerned with housing, community + environmental matters
-> important at local scale eg issues of footpath maintenance
how is digital placemaking playing a role in evolution of places?
social media -> encouraging participation in process eg planning + decision making about land use in neighbourhoods
eg Power of 10+ allows locals to give 10 reasons why they are out and about in that place -> social media allows people to share + get overall pattern
where was crowdsourcing used to identify open spaces to keep from building over?
Baltimore, USA
allowed local people to identify open spaces in their city that matter most to them -> overall picture emerged which guided final plan
Brixham - Devon’s estate (community shaping the way they live)
- football pitch development
- involved local community group eg workshops
- residents were asked about problems + then they would suggest solutions
- lighting was deemed import by locals for safety
